Comfort
by RattyCatty
Summary: Regina has a nightmare in Neverland and Emma comforts her.


**Hello! So I started watching OUAT recently and wow. I don't exactly know what this is, but I had to get rid of it, so here it is.**

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_She forced a chuckle as she watched the man spin dials and flick switches on the large device beside him. "Is that supposed to frighten me?" she said lowly, an eyebrow raised and a small, cold smirk on her face._

_The man looked at her for a second in disbelief. "It should." Regina's smirk disappeared, and she swallowed._

_"You see, this is how we deal with your kind," the man said as if he was simply punishing a child who had stolen cookies. The Mayor managed to suppress a small, frightened chill that threatened to run down her spine. _

_The man began attaching old-fashioned looking metal clips to the electrodes already on her body. "And, yes, it's going to be unpleasant." A small grunt escaped her as the process of attaching the wires pulled the electrodes about irritatingly and the man - Greg, his name was, although it hadn't always been - threatened her, voice eerily level._

_"Now, exactly _how_ unpleasant," he paused, and Regina let out another small sound, somewhere between a whimper and a gasp as anxiety began to stir inside her as she realised there was likely no way out of this. "Well, that depends on you," Greg finished sharply, glaring down at her menacingly, but stroking her head gently. _

_Regina stared up at him, body tense. She was full of disgust as Greg dared to touch her in such a pitiful way; it was bad enough that he was touching her at all. Pity only added insult to injury._

_Anger at herself for allowing herself to get in this position in the first place travelled through her, setting her muscles alight as adrenaline raced through her. However, she was no longer sure if it was the fear or the anger causing the epinephrine to course through her body. It didn't matter, though. She didn't have the strength to break free of the tough restraints, and the leather cuff wrapped tightly around her wrist kept her magic at bay, smothering her only hope for freedom. She was helpless._

_Regina refused to show her discomfort, however. Years and years of practice had allowed her to hide her fear effectively, and she would not break because some upset man of her past had her tied down and at his mercy._

_"Now," Greg said lowly, the machine beside him whirring to life threateningly. "Where is my father?" _

_Regina's eyes fluttered shut for a second in annoyance before opening to stare up at the ceiling, teeth gritted tightly together, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to be put through- _

_Pain. All there was was intense pain coursing through her body, reaching every nerve ending. Her body rose off the table as far as the strong restraints would allow, her back arching fiercely as every muscle inside her clenched painfully. She groaned through clamped together teeth as violent tremors shook her body. _

_Her blood boiled hotly, every inch of her body in agonising pain, and her brain felt as if it might explode, but still she kept her teeth clenched and screams in. _

_Just when the Mayor thought the pain couldn't be any worse, Greg ramped up the voltage, and her control slipped from her. She let out a long cry that echoed around the room, not dissipating until the next one was released. Her hands balled into even tighter fists, nails puncturing the soft skin of her palms. _

_"Regina?" a soft voice said, and the pain seemed to lessen as the gentle, female voice sounded again. She was confused. Who was that? Why were they here? Had they come to rescue her? She found it hard to believe that someone would, but why else would their voice be so soft? As the pain began to decrease, so did her screams, until they were just pained grunts and groans once again._

_"Regina? Regina! C'mon, wake up," the voice said._

Regina sat bolt upright, her chest heaving as she panted roughly. A sheen of sweat coated her forehead and neck, and her body trembled. A tender hand on her shoulder and a whispery rendition of her name made her whip her head around, nervous to find out who had witnessed her in such a vulnerable state.

"Regina, you ok?" _Emma. Of course. _Part of her was irritated that it was _Emma _who had seen her in such a state, though another part of her was thankful it hadn't been Snow or Charming; their bold, shameless kindness made her uneasy; at least Emma made jokes to ease the tension.

Recently, Emma and herself had been getting on better than usual - you might even call them friends. They had a common goal, their son, and during Emma's magic lessons, they often found themselves exchanging playful banter. Regina once used to feel threatened by Emma's confident, unapologetic presence, fearing she would take away her son, the only thing she had, though in recent months, they'd formed a plan so both could spend time with their son without the other feeling as if he'd been taken away. The Mayor had no doubt Emma cared for Henry as much as she did, and after seeing how happy the Sheriff made the boy, she knew that she could trust her with him.

It was true, Regina herself also had a slight soft spot for the blonde, although she'd likely never admit it outright. It was true, the Sheriff had been insufferable when she first came to Storybrooke, however the woman understood and shared her love for and need to protect their son, and was somewhat 'emotionally incapable' like herself. Neither found it easy to admit weakness and neither found it easy to trust. They were more alike than most people knew, and both women knew it, though neither mentioned it. While others might (unsuccessfully) attempt to push either woman into admitting something, Emma was comfortable with waiting until the dark-haired woman was willing. As a result, the women had their share of somewhat intimate moments, often spent sitting together in companionable silence, soaking in the other's comforting presence, until one murmured something that was on their mind, the other allowing them to speak their mind, only speaking if her companion needed her to.

"Regina?" Emma's concerned voice brought her back to the present. The dark-haired woman searched the camp with hard, cold eyes for a minute, her expression masked. "They're asleep. It's ok," the blonde said quietly, knowing Regina would be worried about whether the others had seen her in her weakened state. With this knowledge, Regina's face softened and she met the sincere, blue eyes of the other woman.

"It was the cannery again," she murmured, eyes flicking away from Emma's and lowering. The blonde moved from kneeling by Regina to a more comfortable sitting position, letting the other woman take as long as she needed to get the words out. "It felt so real," Regina whispered, voice low and grainy, more so than usual due to her still-sleepy body.

The blonde brought a hand up to the Mayor's arm, squeezing gently, meeting her eyes again. "It was just a dream, Regina. You're ok."

"I know," the dark-haired woman said, leaning into Emma's touch, using it as an anchor to prevent her mind from wandering back to that dark place.

They sat that way for a while, sharing a rare moment of vulnerability, Regina taking comfort in Emma and Emma revelling in touching and comforting the dark-haired woman, appreciating the fact that she had been let in by the guarded woman. Time passed, however, and both women became increasingly tired.

"Hey, do you think you can get some more sleep?" Emma whispered, her hand mindlessly taking Regina's and rubbing small, soothing circles over the soft skin.

Regina sighed, knowing she should if she didn't want to risk getting _killed _as they continued their trek through Neverland the next morning, and her exhausted body begged for more rest, however, the thought of surrendering to sleep and slipping back into those dark dreams scared her, so she shook her head. "I think I'll just go and take a walk," she murmured, coming up with any excuse for not sleeping. Then a thought crossed her mind. She mentally punished herself for allowing herself to think such a thing, before considering it again. It was risky, but they both needed sleep and Regina wanted to avoid the dark scenarios her mind conjured at all costs. "Unless..." she started, steeling herself to ask.

Emma furrowed her brow, waiting to hear what the other woman would suggest.

"Stay with me?" Regina whispered, eyes on the dusty dirt beneath them, a light flush on her skin.

Unseen by the dark-haired woman, Emma also blushed slightly, a tiny smile on her face. "Sure," she breathed, as Regina's surprised eyes moved up to meet her own. The dark-haired woman wasn't sure if the Sheriff would accept, but the fact that she had caused an unexpected bubble of happiness to rise inside her, and she lay down on her side once more.

Emma hesitated for a minute, before moving away to collect her own makeshift pillow from the place she had been sleeping and setting it beside Regina's. She lay down behind the other woman, her surprise making her more clumsy than usual. She felt the warmth of the woman in front of her, and moved closer until her front was pressed against Regina's back, a hand on the woman's hip to balance herself. "Is this ok?" she asked uncertainly, not wanting to do anything that might make the usually-tightly-wound woman change her mind; not only would that put distance between them in the future, but it would mean Emma had ruined her chance to be with the older woman.

Regina paused before pulling the blonde's hand so Emma's strong arm wound around her waist, hugging her close. "Yes," she murmured drowsily, sleep coming faster than she expected now she was settled down and calm. The blonde's breath warmed Regina's neck, and her tender hug made the dark-haired woman feel safer than she had for a long time.

After bathing in each other's affection, the women eventually drifted off to sleep, and neither had had such a comfortable night's sleep since boarding the Jolly Roger to come to Neverland.


End file.
